Whats "into the drop"?

[Yubagirl]

whats in the drop mean-is it placing your hands on the bottom of the handlebars? and if so how does it benefit?

[Pedal Wench]

Road handlebars are referred to as 'drop bars', so yes, 'riding in the drops' means putting your hands down on the bottom. 'On the hoods' means up on top of the brake/shifters, and 'on the tops' means your hands are on the flat part of the bar.

Shifting your hands and riding position help alleviate some overuse problems. Riding in the drops is a more aero position, and used in sprints and descending. I use it just to stretch out my back on long rides.

[Veronica]

I use the drops for standing climbs, descents and when I have a good sized headwind.

V.

[bikerchick68]

I ride the drops whenever I am going downhill... adds some stability... and I also "squeeze" the top tube with my legs for added stability... if I want to ride a downhill slower, I will moce my hands to the hoods and the wind hitting my body helps decrease my speed...

riding in the drops is definitely more aerodynamic and prevents you from becoming a "sail"... if you watch racers they ride almost exclusively in the drops EXCEPT when climbing... it is recommended to ride on top of the bars then, to allow better air intake into your lungs...

[CorsairMac]

I tend to ride in the drops quite a bit, I find it very comfortable. I also ride in the drops for just about what everyone else named here plus taking off from a stop. I find the drops much easier to ride in when doing an explosive standing take off. and here here on the headwinds, I'll go as low into the drops as I can when I've got headwinds - helps with the buffeting.

[RoadRaven]

I tend to use the drops alot - almost all of my flat rides on the road, I ride on the drops... it just feels right

I climb on the hoods

Hope these posts have clarified for you, YubaGirl

[KkAllez]

I love going into the drops. It just makes me feel like I am a pro for short while. When it does a purpose other than stroke my ego is one descent I have that immediately has a steep ascent. If I can get enough speed going down, in the drops, tucked in, I can usually make at least half to three quarters the way up the ascent before I lose any speed.

[RoadRaven]

LOL Kk... I like playing this game...

There is a rolling gorge on my road that I have to go through going anywhere or coming home.
If i'm not racing my own time, I like to get to the top of each hillock, and then get my speed up quickly as pos and then see how far I can coast up the next one... silly i know, but I like it...

[annie]

Another good reason to drop into the drops, at least occasionally - you will use slightly different muscles in your legs and the lower position really brings your glutes into play, thus giving other muscles a bit of a rest. It's a more efficient position but probably not comfortable if you aren't accustomed to it. So start with short times in the drops and go from there. Increase as you get comfortable and viola! Pretty soon, you'll find yourself dropping down without evern thinking about it, and feeling good!

annie

[MM_QFC!]

Adding to the list...the first time I rode a route with a couple of mountain passes on my road bike, an experienced friend tipped me off beforehand: that being in the drops on descents provides more control and ease of reaching and feathering the brakes than from the more unstable hand position on the hoods. She was so right; I have smallish hands, so trying to reach from the hoods was more difficult and I quickly switched. It's much easier for me to be closer to and in control of braking if my hands are up in the curve of the drops; obviously don't need to be in that position on climbs or long stretches without need for braking.

[Biking Chick]

While visiting the Trek store in Madison (WI) I overheard a conversation between guy, girlfriend and salesperson on the advantages of WSD road bikes. Mr. Testosterone (guy) liked the idea of WSD especially since this was girlfriend's first venture into cycling but he wanted to swap out the wheels as he was positive that with the smaller wheels on the WSD girlfriend would not be able to keep up when they rode with 'his friends'. Oh now you KNOW I had to say something ... I won't bore y'all with all the details but suffice to say I told them I had the same bike that they were looking at (Trek 5200 WSD) and that I also had a 2200 WSD, how much I loved them blah blah blah. Told girlfriend that if she put enough miles on the bike and talked to other women cyclists it wouldn't be long before she'd become stronger and confident in herself and her bike. Then looking at Mr. Testosterone I told him that while the wheels on the WSD might not measure up to a guys frame & tires that if I rode with his friends I'm confident that I could keep up on my girlie bike and in a headwind and riding on the drops - I'd kick his ***.

DH still talks about that incident and says he hopes girlfriend remembers that talk and is now (over a year later) the one doing the kicking